Shark Bites Swimmer

DIGEST

April 5, 1994|Staff Report

Miami Beach lifeguards scoured the water for fins Monday, a day after a 71-year-old swimmer was bitten by a shark.

On Sunday, Raul Tozo of North Miami was swimming about 20 yards offshore when he was bitten by a shark. The shark left puncture wounds and gashes on Tozo's left arm and shoulder. Tozo refused to be hospitalized. He later received 17 stitches to close the wounds.

"We understand the shark was chasing after other fish and the man was bitten," said City Spokesman David Reddick. Minutes before the attack, several beachgoers told lifeguards on the 74th Street beach there was a shark in the water.

On Monday, Miami Beach city officials emphasized such close-to-shore attacks are rare.

"There has not been anything like this on Miami Beach in the last 25 years," Reddick said. By late afternoon, there had been no new sightings.